Microsoft sees Windows 8 as a rebirth, thinks 500 million users will have it by 2013

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, during a speech at the Seoul Digital Forum, stated that the company’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system, which features an upgraded cloud computing service, will be a rebirth of the company’s Windows operating system and more than 500 million users will have it by 2013.

“It’s really, in some senses, a dawning of the rebirth of MS Windows… It’s certainly the most important piece of work we’ve done,” Ballmer stated during the speech. Ballmer also estimates that up to 500 million users will have Windows 8 by next year. Ballmer believes that this will create economic opportunity for device makers and app developers who choose to adopt the new ecosystem. Ballmer also mentions during the speech that Microsoft plans on introducing Skype powered by Windows 8, but no more details on that topic as of yet.